Journalists As Politicians

The late, great Paul Rimstead ran for mayor of Toronto in the 1970s; Peter Worthington was a federal nominee in Broadview-Greenwood twice in the 1980s; Mark Bonokoski had a run at politics while in Ottawa; Dick Chapman was a municipal candidate.

If memory serves us correctly, the only successful Toronto Sun staffer in an election bid was Garth Turner, the finance writer who was first elected as an MP in 1988 and has been making waves on and off since then.

And perhaps soon to be making waves again ;)

Halton Tories Out To Sabotage Tory Candidate!

I've written extensively about Lisa Raitt's difficulties re earning the loyalty of Conservative Party insiders in Halton, where the CPoC hierarchy parachuted her in as a "star" candidate.

Well, some of these CPoC rebs have started their own blog urging local voters to vote neither for Lisa nor incumbent Garth Turner. Their latest message to the people of Halton:

The Truth: We still have pipelines into the party, and the local numbers indicate that Halton is truly in play.

If it wasn't a close race, why would we care? Lisa Raitt would lose and the back room boys in Ottawa would learn a lesson. But Lisa Raitt is definitely in contention, and we're concerned that the people in Ottawa will start to think that they know better than local riding associations. For the long term health of our party, we need the back room brokers to trust us on the ground.

Don't vote for Garth Turner, the man who sold his riding out.

Don't vote for Lisa Raitt, the woman who was handed this riding by people who think they own it.

Now, Steve Janke has written a lot of nonsense about the blog authors being NDP supporters involved in an elaborate conspiracy, but my own sources among disgruntled Halton Tories believe that this is a sincere attempt to thwart the party machine. We'll see if it works.

Flaherty Spokesman: Liberals FREEPED My Pole!

...or poll. Whatever. From the G&M:

Ottawa -- Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty received some unwelcome budget feedback recently when an online poll he commissioned recorded overwhelming opposition to his 2007 fiscal plan.

[...]

"The poll was hijacked by Garth Turner and his Liberal supporters," Dan Miles, director of communications for Mr. Flaherty, said.

Good job, Garth and co., but if you Turneristas want a real challenge, check out the Angus Reid on-line Forums, which I have written about here, here , and here. Sign up, then sign up again using a different name, and then again.

Indulge your fantasies: be black, switch genders, or adopt the persona of a Western Separatist--its all possible on the AR forums, and you can do it all from a single IP address!

Then start taking surveys: which party would you vote for, do you like cheese, have you ever suffered from skin tags? The fun and games never end, and you can help one of Canada's major polling organizations forecast a Green Party majority!

Conservative Party of Canada: Lots Of Class, All Of It 3rd

From CTV:

OTTAWA -- Renegade MP Garth Turner was greeted by hoots and a rude gesture from his former Tory colleagues on Wednesday when he made his question period debut as a Liberal.

[...]

Selkirk MP James Bezan pumped his forearm in a vulgar gesture in Turner's direction.

Be nice if they got this on tape.

Garth Goes Lib!

From CTV:

Maverick MP Garth Turner, who was booted from Conservative party ranks last fall, is expected to join the Liberal caucus, CTV News has learned.

Good call Michelle.

Two things.

1) I still wish he'd gone Green. This would have got Elizabeth May to the debates.

2) How does this effect the numbers? Can Harper pass legislation with just the NDP? If not, this means that the Libs suddenly have far more clout than even yesterday. On the downside, if Harper presents a crap Clean Air Act, it will be up to the Libs to let it pass or fail. If they let it pass because they are afraid of an election, Dion's credibility will take a BIG hit.